Motorcycles are designed with a transmission and a foot pedal mechanism that is disposed on one side, usually the left side, of the motorcycle. The foot pedal is coupled through a pivoting arrangement to a rod which, in turn, is connected to the transmission to move the gears up for acceleration and down for deceleration. Prior art motorcycles include a foot rest in the form of a foot peg, a foot plate or floor board upon which the sole of an operator""s boot or the shoe of an operator""s left foot rests during travel. At least one shift lever or pedal is associated with and generally located forwardly of the foot rest, the shift pedal being engageable by the toe of the foot for shifting. Some motorcycles also include a second shift lever or pedal located generally rearwardly of the foot rest and engageable with the heel of the foot.
As is well known, to accelerate the motorcycle, the boot or shoe is positioned under the shift lever, and with the foot resting on the foot rest, the toe is moved upwardly each time an upward shift is desired by forcing the shift pedal upwardly and moving the shift rod accordingly. To decelerate or come to a stop, the left foot must be disengaged from the foot rest so that the operator""s sole is placed on top of the shift pedal at which position the motorcycle may be shifted downwardly by applying an appropriate downward force.
In recent years, it has become a desired practice among motorcycle enthusiasts to convert stock motorcycle transmission arrangements to forward shift controls in which an operator may have his or her legs extended forwardly, upwardly and outwardly in a rest position supported on highway pegs and still have the ability to shift the gears of the motorcycle transmission without having to relocate the shifting foot. A properly installed forward shift control must provide some measure of adjustability so as to be usable according to the operator""s individual leg length and preferred riding position during extended travel. However, such conversion arrangements generally require modification of the basic motorcycle control system such that the original shifting hardware must be removed before the forward shift controls may be added. In the case of newly manufactured motorcycles which are ordered with forward shift controls, the standard shifting pedal and lever are generally not included.
Accordingly, it is desirable that the present invention provide a forward shift control which supplements the original shift pedal and lever system in a manner which will permit shifting of the motorcycle from the original foot rest as well as from one of the highway pegs.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide a more versatile motorcycle shifting arrangement which permits the operator to change gears while his or her legs are in an extended, raised position.
It is one object of the present invention to provide a shifting linkage which may be easily installed between a support structure on the forward portion of the motorcycle and the pivoting arrangement of the original foot pedal mechanism.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a forward shift control employing a highway peg which may be adjustably positioned relative to the original foot pedal mechanism.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an articulated motorcycle forward shift control that includes a primary shift lever secured to the pivoting arrangement of the original foot pedal mechanism, a secondary shift lever carrying a highway peg which is connected to a supporting structure on the motorcycle and a linkage interconnecting the primary and secondary shift levers.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a motorcycle forward shift control which can be installed on a motorcycle as original equipment or may be added to a motorcycle at a date following original manufacture.
In one aspect of the invention, a motorcycle shifting arrangement is connected to the transmission of a motorcycle for shifting the transmission between a higher gear and a lower gear. The motorcycle includes an original shifting structure having an original shift pedal pivotally mounted on an original pivot shaft coupled to the transmission at a location adjacent a foot rest attached to a bottom portion of the motorcycle. The improvement includes a supplemental shifting structure constructed and arranged to permit alternative shifting of the motorcycle while the motorcycle operator has his or her legs in a raised, extended position resting upon a highway peg attached to a supporting structure at a forward location on the motorcycle.
In another aspect of the invention, a motorcycle shifting arrangement is connected to the transmission of a motorcycle to shift the transmission between higher and lower gears. The shifting arrangement includes an original shift pedal pivotally mounted on an original pivot shaft coupled to the transmission at a location adjacent a foot rest attached to the bottom portion of the motorcycle. A primary shift lever is pivotally connected to the original pivot shaft. A secondary shift lever is pivotally connected to a supporting structure of the motorcycle. A secondary shift lever includes a foot pedal and a highway peg upon which a motorcycle operator rests his or her foot with his or her legs in an extended, raised position relative to the foot rest. A connecting linkage has one end pivotally connected to the primary shift lever and another end pivotally connected to the secondary shift lever. With this construction, the motorcycle operator, with his or her foot resting upon the highway peg, engages the foot pedal with his or her toe to shift to a higher gear and engages the original shift pedal with his or her heel to shift to a lower gear. The primary shift lever, the secondary shift lever and the connecting linkage are installed on the motorcycle without modification of the original shift pedal and the original pivot shaft.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a motorcycle forward shift control is connected to the transmission of a motorcycle to shift the transmission between a higher gear and a lower gear. The motorcycle includes an original shift pedal pivotally mounted on an original pivot shaft coupled to the transmission at a location adjacent a foot rest attached to the motorcycle. The forward shift control includes a primary shift lever having an upper end and a lower end pivotally connected to the original pivot shaft. A secondary shift lever is pivotally connected to a supporting structure of the motorcycle. The secondary shift lever includes an upper segment provided with a foot pedal, a lower segment having a series of adjustment openings and a medial hub having an elongated pivot shaft for mounting a highway peg upon which a motorcycle operator rests his or her foot in an extended, raised position relative to the foot rest. A connecting linkage has a forward heim joint pivotally connected to the lower segment of the secondary shift lever at a selected one of the adjustment openings, and a rearward heim joint pivotally connected to the upper end of the primary shift lever. The motorcycle operator with his or her foot resting on the highway peg is able to apply a force with the bottom of his or her toe against the foot pedal which will pivot the secondary shift lever causing movement of the connecting linkage to rotate the primary shift lever about the original pivot shaft and cause shifting to a higher gear, and is able to apply a force with the bottom of his or her heel against the original shift pedal which will rotate the original shift lever and cause shifting to a lower gear. The supporting structure is a roll bar and the highway peg is adjustably mounted on the roll bar. The secondary shift lever is a one-piece construction formed with an obtuse angle. The elongated pivot shaft is surrounded by sleeve structure such that the medial hub is rotatable relative to the highway peg. The connecting linkage includes a rod having a longitudinal axis and opposite threaded ends, and the forward and rearward heim joints each include an internally threaded sleeve for receiving one of the threaded ends of the rod, and an apertured rod end having a swivel joint between. The forward heim joint and the rearward heim joint are rotatable about a horizontal axis as well as the longitudinal axis of the rod. The foot pedal, the highway peg and the original shift pedal are in alignment with each other. The original pivot shaft carries a plurality of spacers for positioning the primary shift lever between the motorcycle and the original shift lever. The highway peg is constructed of a cylindrical body surrounded by a series of non-slip surfaces. The sleeve structure and the cylindrical body of the highway peg are concentrically mounted about the axis of the elongated pivot shaft.
Various other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.